# Ammonia smell?



## Tulpa (Jan 18, 2013)

I was smoking the first english blend that I've acquired and I smelled the bowl while it was lit. It smelled (and burned my nose) like huffing cat urine. The smoke tasted great, though. Is it the tobacco? I don't think I've smelled a lit bowl before, so it might be normal?


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## YoungCurmudgeon (Jan 23, 2013)

Ammonia is a natural byproduct of fermenting or curing tobacco. If it bothers you, I would suggest letting the tobacco air out somewhat. In the cigar world a cigar that has an ammonia smell is generaly considered to be too young and needs some ageing in our humidors, but we have wood humidors which do breath through the wood grain. If your Jarring you tobacco its sealed in a glass chamber with no place for the ammonia to escape so I'm not sure how that works. I do know having smoked some young cigars with an ammonia aroma still in them it can give ya a wicked headache, but your smoking way more tobacco with a cigar. Hope someone more experianced with pipe tobacco aging methods chimes in.


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## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

Unless, of course, you were smoking Mixture 79. If that was the case, then it was genuine cat urine.


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## Tulpa (Jan 18, 2013)

Eh, it was a bulk tobacco named "Sherlock's Choice".


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## SmoknTaz (Jun 18, 2008)

Try smoking a different blend and see if you still get the ammonia smell. Or... Are you breaking in a new pipe?



MarkC said:


> Unless, of course, you were smoking Mixture 79. If that was the case, then it was genuine cat urine.


LMAO, tried it once and thank god I didn't detect any used cat litter! :rotfl:


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

I have Smelled Ammonia in fresh cigars many times never in pipe baccy very interesting.
I would think the processing heating etc related to the production of pipe tobacco would remove all ammonia.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

SmoknTaz said:


> LMAO, tried it once and thank god I didn't detect any used cat litter! :rotfl:


The litter is ground up with the goat pen sweepings, so you don't see it.


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## Tulpa (Jan 18, 2013)

Hm, I smoked it inside and noticed that there was a fairly strong ammonia smell under the normal room note. I tried an aromatic from the same place (tinderbox) and noticed it again, but to a lesser extent.


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